Shocked diners tell of horror moment man on FIRE came running into Frankie & Benny’s screaming in agony
Man fighting for his life after suffering 45 per cent burns to his body in the incident at Rochdale branch at 11am in morning
SHOCKED diners have told of the horror moment a man on FIRE came running into a restaurant screaming in agony.
The man, 26, was screaming: “I’m burning, I’m burning” as he rushed into the Frankie and Benny’s restaurant in Rochdale, Gtr Manchester.
Witnesses reported his legs were completely ablaze.
A bystander grabbed a fire extinguisher in a bid to quell the flames.
Staff immediately called emergency services and the man was rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital by air ambulance.
The man is fighting for his life after suffering 45 per cent burns to his body in the incident, which happened just after 11am on Tuesday.
One customer, who was sat outside at the back of the restaurant at the time: “I was with my girlfriend and we were waiting for our food when a panicked elderly couple approached us. The man, white as a sheet, said, ‘There’s a man on fire inside’.
“When we went in we saw the man screaming in pain saying, ‘I’m burning I’m burning!’ as another man tried to put him out.
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“He had flames on his hand and on his legs.
“It was traumatising – a guy was standing there screaming for his life. Everyone was panicking. A woman was speaking to him.”
Izzy Shanaz, manager at the nearby Subway, described the atmosphere on the retail park at the time as ‘manic’ and said staff were left worried when they heard about the incident.
Other witnesses reported seeing smashed glass on tables outside the restaurant after police had left the scene at about 2pm, and clothes strewn across the floor.
A spokesman for Frankie and Benny’s said: “We can confirm that an incident occurred outside of our premises involving an external member of the public who was not a guest at the restaurant.
"Our team reacted quickly and involved the emergency services. This is now a police matter and would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “We were called to Sandbrook Park in Rochdale at 11.16pm to a patient who appeared to have burns.
“They were taken by air ambulance to Wythenshawe Hospital.”
A GMP spokesman added: “We were called to Frankie and Benny’s at 11.19am.
“A number of fire engines and officers were mobilised to the scene. The fire was out by the time officers arrived.
“Officers gave first aid to the man at the scene and he was taken to hospital by air ambulance.”
Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting 873 of 13/09/16.
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